Parents and Families

Students Discover What They Do Best

Are you able to do what you do best every day? Many U-M student employees in Student Life, including over 500 in University Unions, get to participate in an online assessment called StrengthsQuest as part of their annual training.

Upon completion of StrengthsQuest, students learn their top 5 out of 34 strengths. By identifying these natural strengths, students can choose where to invest their energy to get the greatest return.

“After taking StrengthsQuest, I realized that I was an Executer,” said Rachel Alexander, a sophomore in LSA. Getting to participate in this program “helped me realize my strengths and ultimately helped me find my most productive place on a team, which is highly important in college with group projects.”

Students also explore where they lack natural talent and how to identify colleagues with strengths in those areas. Jasmine Johnson, a freshman in the College of Engineering who also participated in the Student Life training shared: It “helped me find exactly what would improve my college experience and professional career. Not only does the training point out what you are good at, but it also makes suggestions towards what you can improve on.”

In addition to StrengthsQuest, University Unions offers additional training to student employees on such topics as customer service, leadership development and teamwork. Via employment with the University Unions, students experience their jobs as learning labs - with built in opportunities to gain deeper understanding of their strengths, challenges, and areas to explore in life after college.